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Let's End "Witchhunt" Persecution in Uganda

Of course, there are no such things as witches or witchcraft. However, "Witchhunts" are regularly conducted by self-anointed Christian Evangelical "Healers" for their own gain and fame throughout Africa, with tragic and often fatal results for the victims who are usually the most vulnerable in the community.

TIME TO BRING AN END TO BLASPHEMY LAWS!

By going to the ICABL websiteyou can find news on victims of Blasphemy laws from all around the world, including an interactive map with detailed information on the countries’ blasphemy laws and consequences.

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The relationship between politics and
religion is interesting. Russia is an example of a country where attitudes
toward religion have gone from one extreme to another. For much of the 20th
century the country under Soviet rule actively sought to eliminate religion.
Religion was a threat to the power structure of the country at the time. Things
changed in the 1990s, and modern Russia now has laws guaranteeing religious
freedom. The politics in the country changed and now the church, and in
particular the Russian Orthodox Church, enjoys significant influence on Russian
politics.

An example of this is the Pussy Riot
case, as reported by Atheist Alliance
International in August 2012. This brought to international attention how
powerful the Russian Orthodox Church really is and how strongly dissent is
still dealt with in Russia. That case relates to the actions of five women of
the Pussy Riot collective, who performed a protest piece in Moscow’s Cathedral
of Christ the Saviour. Three of the women were arrested, charged and convicted
of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, and sentenced to two years
imprisonment. As reported by RAPSI News one of the convicted three, Samutsevich,
has since had her sentence reduced to
probation.

There was much criticism at the time from the international community regarding the harshness of the sentences handed out to the convicted women. However, the reaction from Russian MPs since then has not favoured the support of free-speech, but rather to seek harsher anti-blasphemy laws. Laws were then proposed setting fines and long jail sentences for those who insult religious feelings. Critics at the time warned that under the proposed laws the teaching of evolution or the Big Bang theory could be considered as insulting to believers and punishable under the proposed laws.

There have since been three readings of
the proposed laws, and the state of Duma, part of the Russian Confederation,
has passed an anti-blasphemy
bill, which introduces fines of up to
500,000 roubles ($15,430) and the possibility of prison sentences of up to
three years for “offending the feelings of religious believers.”

The new laws have been heavily criticized
by human rights advocates. Veteran activist Lev Ponomaryov stated that “It's a
step back from the secular nature of Russia recognized by the Constitution”,
commenting also that the bill introduces terms, such as ‘feelings’, which are illegal. Ponomaryov and others also fear that
the new law may be used for political purposes and will put pressure on free
speech.

Indeed, and that is the crux of the matter. For while the country has changed from being officially atheist (under communism) to its modern stance of supporting religious belief, one thing that has not changed is intolerance of dissent. The new anti-blasphemy laws show that free speech is not guaranteed in Russia, as much now as it was last century.